【 A WITCH’S GUIDE TO MAGICAL INNKEEPING 】

Genre: Cosy Fantasy
Audience: Adult
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Published: July 2025
Publisher: Hodderscape
Pages: 334 (paperback)

For me, Sangu Mandanna has become synonymous with peak cosy fantasy. I loved this every bit as much as I loved The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Both are sweet, engaging stories that actually pack quite the unexpected punch when it comes to their character development.

There were many similarities between the two books in terms of structure and themes, so I can safely say that if you enjoyed the other, this should be right up your ally, too. Following a young woman who is lumped with a run-down inn to keep, we start with a quick chapter of when she’s very young and performs a spell that all but depletes her magic. The rest of the book is a spectacular amount of self-discovery and self-growth as she tries to find out how she can restore it.

This is filled to the brim with wonderful characters and an utterly heart-warming representation of neurodivergence (autism being the main one at the fore with the character Posy). I really do take my hat off to Mandanna for the character development in this book, because you end up falling in love with each and every character that comes to the inn and are 100% there for them as they overcome their own problems.

The magic in this book was utterly wholesome, too. Sera (main character) cast a huge and whimsical spell over the inn to keep it welcoming, cosy and full of all the right people – and despite her magic problems, that spell has remained. It was hilarious the way this brought in all the quirky and fantastic moments (like a room that rained tea briefly on the same day each week for no reason) that you expect from this genre.

And, like any good cosy fantasy, it’s also many of the non-magical elements that bring in the cosy. The character Nicholas is a full-time knight and almost always fully clad in armour. He has a job at the local medieval fair, and everything about him oozes cosy (and hilarity). I also feel that Roo-Roo should get a mention here, also for the hilarity that crazy, strange chicken brings (though I guess Roo-Roo doesn’t quite count as non-magical). Much heavy lifting of the cosy genre must be acknowledged as done by those two.

And let’s not forget the regular evening lull described where everyone retires the couches to wind down, before one-by-one trickling off to bed. I loved those scenes.

There is plenty to laugh about and everything does feel very light-hearted, yet the underlying character plots actually ground the book in some serious themes. I particularly enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Sera and Luke. It was so nice (in a somewhat toxic sea of questionable romantasy “romances” these days) to have two adults trying to work out whether they might just like each other, even as friends, if they can both work out how to put their prickles down. I loved following them on their own journeys.

And it has to be said that I’ve also come to love the really tastefully done commentary on race issues that Mandanna splashes into her books. It is just the right amount (as it is with any other issue she addresses) to offer a perspective on what it’s like to live in a country that is filled with so many people who don’t seem to want you there. I think she does this so, so well.

If you’re in need of a wholesome cosy fantasy (though there is a healthy smattering of swearing, and one (mostly) fade-to-black sex scene), this is 4000% for you. Found-family, talking foxes and random magic will transport you to the perfect reality escape.

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Title: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Author: Sangu Mandanna
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An enchanting novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches .

Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her magical Guild. Now she ( slightly reluctantly and a bit grumpily) helps Aunt Jasmine run an inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guest’s shenanigans, tries to keep the talking fox in check, and longs for the magical future she lost.

When she learns about an old spell book that could hold the secret to restoring her power, she finds herself turning to Luke Larsen, a gorgeous and icy historian who might be the only person who can help her unlock the book’s mysteries. The fact that he also happens to be her one-night stand from years ago is totally irrelevant.

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and trying not to fall in love is a lot for anyone, but Sera is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.